Grand Tower Manufacturing & Transportation Co. v. Hawkins

Citations

• 72 Ill. 386

Syllabus

<p>1. Negligence—contributory and comparative. Although the mere fact that a plaintiff was guilty of contributory negligence in reference to the matter involved in his suit, will not, of itself, prevent him from recovering for injuries caused hy the negligence of the defendant, yet he can not recover in such case unless his negligence, as compared with defendant’s, was slight, and that of the defendant was gross.</p> <p>2. Wharf boats—liability of owners of, when not common carriers of passengers. The owner of a wharf boat, who is not a common carrier of passengers, and who receives no compensation from passengers for the use of his boat, whilst he is required to keep the passway safe which he permits the public to use, is not bound to maintain passways for passengers over and around every part of his wharf boat.</p> <p>3. A wharf boat, which was the only landing for boats at the point where it was situated, belonged to a company which was not a common carrier of passengers; it was used for the purpose of receiving and transferring freight, and the public did business with the boats through this wharf boat; it was the custom of the owner of the wharf boat to keep it closed of nights; the passway for passengers was through, and not around it. A party, having business with a boat approaching the wharf boat, went on to it in the night, when it was closed, and, in passing around it, in a part not used or intended as a passway for passengers, fell into a hole and was injured. He had made no application to have the wharf boat opened. The steamboat had not landed when he was injured, and the wharf boat was opened in time to transact business with it when it landed: Held, that the owners of the wharf boat were guilty of no negligence, and that the party injured did not exercise ordinary care and caution, and was not entitled to recover.</p>